The Knight of Darkness battles criminal geniuses in two Batmanesque novels by Walter Gibson writing as "Maxwell Grant" and a radio thriller by Alfred Bester.

First, The Shadow wages war with the twisted-countenance crimelord called The Face. Then, Lamont Cranston is convicted and sent to prison while extortionists wage war on America's financial institutions with a super Crime Ray that melts bridges and buildings in a thriller that inspired a 1940 Batman story.

BONUS: "The Man Who was Death," a classic radioplay by Alfred Bester. This instant collector's item features the original pulp covers by George Rozen and Graves Gladney, Edd Cartier's original interior illustrations and commentary by popular-culture historians Anthony Tollin and Will Murray.